American owned and operated. Come to this especially safe, very warm and friendly city to enjoy the culture of Mexico.
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How is Veracruz? Veracruz is Safe!

Here are reports from STUDENTS about safety in Veracruz.

Here is the truth; here in the words of students is how things were while they were here.

If you were here in Veracruz right now, you'd be able to write a letter about safety saying the same things you'll see in the letters below .

These are letters, sent to us by students, that contain conversation about safety.
We have included the entire letter. The parts talking about safety we've placed in boldface type. We never before (before the end of March 2012) asked anyone to comment about safety. Because it's been safe, safety almost never came up in student letters. We've looked back through our files and the few older letters mentioning safety that we've found, we have also included.

Last week I returned from my annual trip to Veracruz to visit my friends Eric and Linda at The Spanish Immersion School.

When I'm there I take daily walks along the malecon from the school to the downtown area.

But this year, I decided to get to know the neighborhoods a little better so I used the residential streets for my daily walks. I walked from the school to the main bus station and back, I walked from the school to downtown and back. Every day I took a different route.

Many days when I arrived downtown I walked around the area, marching with all the other business people, students, and vendors.

Every day, everywhere I walked, I felt perfectly safe.

I didn't walk {the neighborhood streets} at night, however, but the only reason was because there are too many bumps and dips in the sidewalks to negotiate them without good light.

March 11, 2013 Ruthie

My husband, daughter and I just returned from 3 wonderful weeks at the Spanish Immersion School in Veracruz.

Before booking the trip we had been concerned about safety so we had been hesitant about going.

But now I know firsthand that there is no need to be worried about safety.

We never once felt unsafe while we were there and we travelled by bus, taxi and also did lots of walking.

We walked to the small markets close by. All we encountered were friendly people.

Of course, we had to also use common sense as we always do when we travel but we never felt unsafe.

I am so glad that we had gone and we will certainly return to the Immersion School.

May 26, 2012 Tom

I wanted to write to thank you for all of the hospitality you showed me when I was staying with you. You run a first rate program and it was clear at every step of the way how dedicated you are to helping people learn Spanish. According to the most important judge of all, my girlfriend, my Spanish has improved a lot for staying with you. Please convey my thanks to all of your students; I had a great time getting to know all of them. Having such friendly, easy-going people made practicing Spanish a lot better, and I am missing Veracruz a lot.

You asked me to write about the safety situation in Veracruz. I will be clear- Veracruz was an incredibly safe city to visit. I was out by myself in the city late at night many times, and I never felt in danger once. Veracruz had many joggers out by themselves late night, there were women who were by themselves, there were families with kids walking around.... This is something you just don't see in dangerous cities. I never saw any problems from the drug war that is affecting other parts of Mexico.

To make a comparison with the United States- the city of Washington, DC where I live is much more dangerous than Veracruz. I would rate the safety of the Veracruz to be about the same as an upscale suburb in the United States.

If any other prospective students want to ask me regarding the safety of Veracruz, feel free to put me in contact with them and I will be happy to answer any of their questions.

I have just returned from Latin America and the extra personal help that I received at the Spanish Immersion School enabled me to communicate with the Sisters at a much deeper level.

I would recommend your school to anyone who wants to have an exceptional experience learning Spanish.

The entire time that I was with you I felt safe and my needs were always considered.

Thank you from the bottom of my bottomless heart.

Love and prayers,

Sr Jude Ellen

April 10, 2012 Pleun

You are so right, Veracruz IS SAFE. It seems silly to write something about the safety here, there is just nothing more to say. From the moment we set foot in Veracruz I have felt safe.

Before we came out, we heard a lot of scary stories about crime and hijacking. Since I have been here, I have learned this applies to other areas in Mexico. Veracruz seems to be a town like any other in Holland {Pleun’s homeland} or the US. I just follow what the locals do. I see women hailing taxis from the street by themselves, therefore so do I.

These taxi rides prove a great way to practice Spanish. The scariest thing to me here is that the police carry these huge guns, but in a strange way that also makes me feel very safe.

I would definitely recommend Veracruz to anyone. By the way, the same goes for your school. It was a huge help in learning Spanish and what I learned in those two weeks has proven very useful in the two months since then. We love being in Veracruz and the people here are extremely nice and willing to practice all day long if you want to.

The statements on your website are absolutely true.

March 27, 2012 Britta

I recently spent nine days at the Language Immersion School in Veracruz. This was my second time to the school and once again I was not disappointed!

The school is very well run, the language lessons thorough and catered well to each student's needs. The staff is caring and kind and there is a wonderful family feel that develops between fellow students and staff. Veracruz is a wonderful city and the best for learning spanish.

The local people are so kind and eager to engage with the students.

The city is family orientated and safe.

This visit I was there for the Carnaval preparations as well as three days of Carnaval. This is an enormous event that the city plans all year for. This was a once in a lifetime experience!

Never did I feel my safety was compromised.

I will be back to this school because of the staff, the school, the lessons and the progress I make with my Spanish.

Veracruz is the best and I highly recommend this trip!

March 23, 2012 Lorraine

My friends and family forewarned me before I went to Veracruz. Even the travel sites had warnings.

Well, I have just returned from a month in Veracruz - arriving there in time for Carnaval and after spent three weeks at the Spanish Immersion School. The teachers at the school were excellent... I was never made to feel uncomfortable with my meager knowledge of Spanish. The teachers were caring and patient and they always encouraged me to speak in Spanish - even 'bad' Spanish - I was always gently corrected.

Even at the end of a meal when I announced what I thought meant "I was so hungry'' - in Spanish.
I found out that I had actually told everyone that "I used to be a man"! I was gently corrected....

I explored every inch of the city of Veracruz. I was warned not to wander too far during Carnaval.... but I went all over town and never felt any fear. It was surprisingly - a 'family' time... no need to be concerned at all.

I walked around town, took buses and taxis day and night for a month and as in any city if you travel smart... you will be fine. I enjoyed the old buildings, the beaches, the Zocalo, without any reason to feel uncomfortable or threatened. The most dangerous part of the Veracruz trip was the broken up sidewalks!

March 21, 2012 Lorna

Our family just returned from spending 3 weeks in Veracruz with the Language Immersion School. Before we went, we would tell people where we were planning to go and hear horror story after horror story about why we should not go to Mexico, let alone take our daughters (ages 10 and 11) with us.

I am SO glad that we were able to go and did not let fear stop us. This was a "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity that we hope very much to repeat.

In early February, we watched as the U.S. Department of State upgraded the travel warnings for several states in Mexico just days before we were to depart; many were given "suspend all non-essential travel" warnings. I finally came up with an illustration to help my well-meaning friends and relatives understand. If there were riots in L.A. and/or New York, it would be ridiculous to tell everyone to stay away from our home state of Idaho.

When our 3 weeks were over, I didn't want to leave of course, that may be because I didn't have to cook, clean or do laundry for 3 weeks - I really miss that famous fresh-squeezed OJ every morning. I was free to study, learn, converse, see the sights, and relax. My expectations may have been a little too high; hoping to be fluent or nearly so in such a short time, but now that I have returned, I am realizing how very much I did learn.

The teachers were amazing! Friendly, patient, and fun.

Our side trip to Chiapas in the midst of our time was good, but exhausting. When we returned to the school, my 10 year old proclaimed, "Wow! It's good to be home!" When she realized what she had said she quickly added, "-ish."

My time at the Language Immersion School in Veracruz was my second language-school experience and my sixth international experience, and it was the best of all.

The school staff was dedicated to helping me reach my goals for my time in Veracruz both in and out of the classroom.

I felt very safe in the city walking around town at night and this is the first time I have felt comfortable using public transportation on my own in another country.

This was a great experience and I would recommend it to anyone!

March 3, 2009 Mette Line and Claus

We have studied at the Language Immersion School , Vera Cruz, and have the following review.

We read about the school on the internet. Interested, we e-mailed about availability, and got quick and detailed replies on all our queries, including information about the school, how to get there in a safe manner etc. All in all we got the impression that every thing was well organized, which was confirmed as we showed up. After being installed in a nice spacious room we had our first so called “outing”, which is a trip to somewhere in town or nearby with a local Mexican working at the school.

Outings are part of the teaching system, and takes place every afternoon after classes, and we enjoyed them a lot, because they provide an environment for speaking Spanish in a relaxed manner while getting to experience the town and Mexican culture through the eye of a local. The actual teaching takes place every morning, and is also very organized. The teachers are motivated and there is great flexibility with respect to the teaching form and the facilities are also good. In addition to the daily teaching and outings, there is always a Spanish speaking in the house whose job is to be available for students who wish to practice more or just have a nice chat.

Every workday, the school provides breakfast and lunch. Both meals are enjoyable, and also serve as an introduction to the Mexican kitchen. In addition, the meals are the meeting points of the day for all the students and staff and offer a good opportunity to meet foreign cultures and having a good time.

The hosts, teachers, kitchen personnel and other staff at the school are all very friendly and outgoing. The size of the school is about perfect – big enough to have good facilities and to meet other student, but small enough to be personal. In additions, Vera Cruz city is a friendly, and in our opinion, safe town, with nearly no foreign tourists, and we enjoyed running along the boardwalk on the ocean front in the mornings.

We had a very good time at the school, and can of course recommend it at all times.

February 9, 2009 Darryl

I’m very happy to report on my time spent at The Language Immersion School in Veracruz, Mexico. My language learning experience was excellent, and my cultural experience was also excellent.

Linda and Eric Langner, themselves both HS and college teachers, have put together a tremendous approach to getting people speaking in Spanish. I’d taken college classes before going to Veracruz, but I was not able to speak in a comfortable and conversational manner. With only a minimal knowledge of Spanish I was able after only three days to have fun and comfortably speak Spanish with them and others I met while touring the city of Veracruz and the surrounding area.

Linda, Eric and their incredible staff present Mexico to their students in a friendly and respectful way. It allows their students to know the people of Mexico as people—it gets you thinking about how much we all are alike. I think being able to do that means as much to them as does succeeding at teaching Spanish.

Veracruz is very safe and lots of fun. Every time we went out (sometimes until one or two in the morning) something interesting happened. I went because I wanted to be able to speak Spanish for my job as the Arizona Air National Guard Recruiting Superintendent. Linda and Eric tailored my trip so that I was able to experience the things I was interested in i.e. Military History, Government and of course excellent cuisine. In addition to being a student, I turned out to be a happy tourist.

I took my 18 year old son with me. He has a great High School Spanish teacher and I was impressed with the way Eric, Linda and the staff assessed his level of experience and quickly adjusted the curriculum to meet his advanced needs in language development. He had such a wonderful time and became friends with one of our Charlantes that was assigned to us during our stay. A Charlante is (for lack of a better translation) a “talker” and goes with you during the day to keep you speaking Spanish. It was a real eye-opener for him. He’s now in college , and he’s there with fuller perspectives of life south of the border and more to talk about and think about.

I highly recommend the Langners and their language school to you.

Contact us:

by Email:info@veracruzspanish.comSpam guard is a problem. If our reply isn't in your inbox promptly, please look in your spam or email us again.

by Phone:(415) 939-4388
This is our San Francisco number. It rings right through to us in Veracruz at no cost to you.

We at school are very ready to talk with you about safety.

Please feel free at any time to give us a call or send us an email. For us living in Veracruz is living in paradise. For a few weeks way back in the summer of 2011, gangs fighting each other caused us to receive some bad press. As we explain in management and staff writing, the violence was gang on gang. It didn't affect the people of Veracruz and it didn't affect us, foreigners.